ST. LOUIS, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- The St. Louis Cardinals, battling for first place in the National League Central, activated righthander Matt Morris from the 15-day disabled list.
Morris, the starting pitcher Saturday afternoon against Philadelphia, suffered a fractured right index finger when he was hit by a line drive off the bat of Mark Kotsay of San Diego on July 21.
The 28-year-old righthander was expected to come back last week, but suffered a sprained left ankle after a fall at the team's hotel. He has endured a disappointing season, going 8-6 with a 4.16 ERA in 20 starts.
Despite his struggles and a team ERA of 4.73, which is tied with the New York Mets for 19th in the major leagues, the Cardinals began the day one-half game behind the second-place Chicago Cubs and one game behind Houston in the NL Central.
The Cardinals bolstered their pitching Friday when they acquired lefthander Sterling Hitchcock from the New York Yankees and righthander Mike DeJean from Milwaukee.
Also, righthander Jimmy Journell was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained pitching shoulder, righthander Esteban Yan was released, and lefthander Jason Pearson was optioned to Triple-A Memphis.
